A known electrical switch, in which the actuating shaft can be transferred from an OFF position into an ON position by use of a drive train counter to the force of at least one spring, has a latching mechanism in which a first lever pivotably coupled to the drive train is supported against a stop held in a locking position. For transferring the stop into a release position, in which the first lever relinquishes its support against the stop, two triggering operations are provided. Consequently, the transfer of the stop into its release position can take place on the one hand by means of a “normal” triggering operation, in which the stop is actuated directly.
On the other hand, the latching mechanism is provided with a second lever, which has a working surface assigned to the stop. The second lever is in this case held in a first stop position against the first lever by means of at least one second spring. When the second lever pivots under the action of an initiating force, which opposes the force of the second spring, the working surface acts in such a way on the stop that the stop is transferred into its release position—in the course of a triggering operation that is “accelerated” with respect to the “normal” triggering operation (U.S. Pat. No. 6,018,284).
In the case of this known latching mechanism, the second lever and two of the second springs serve not only for the pivoting of the stop but also for the coupling of the drive train to the first lever. The force of the first spring therefore acts indirectly via the second lever and the second springs on the first lever. The force of the first spring acts, as it were, in series with the force of the second spring on the first lever. The dual function of the second lever and of the second spring has the effect on the one hand that the pivoting of the second lever, and consequently the “accelerated” triggering operation, is dependent on the sequence of movements of the drive train and on the other hand that the “normal” triggering operation is dependent on the configuration of the second lever and of the second springs.